A trip to meet a leaf-eating forest man who is afraid of the civilized world of a Vietnamese tourist

Madagascar Nguyen Noah met a group of leaf-eating, civilized forest people in September and said it was a unique experience.

During his trip around Africa, travel blogger Noah Nguyen (Lai Nguu Chan) set foot in Madagascar, but not to see the famous baobab trees. Instead, he traveled west to meet the Mikea tribe - the world's last remaining forest people.

According to Mada magazine, the origin of the Mikea tribe is still a mystery. They live in small groups, in huts that are made of wood and leaves. Their main food is potatoes and leaves. Most of them live in the Mikea Forest Reserve - which may become a national park in the future. This tribe is so mysterious that many people in Madagascar do not even know about their existence.

Locals help Noah push his cart through quicksand. Photo: Itchy Feet Again — Locals help Noah push his cart through quicksand. Photo: *Itchy Feet Again*

From Madagascar’s ancient town of Fianarantsoa, Noah traveled by car to the Mikea Forest Reserve. According to his guide, the group of Mikea he met lived outside the reserve and did not like the presence of strangers.

To reach the Mikea area, Noah had to travel through roads covered in sand. During the nearly two-hour journey, Noah's car got stuck in the sand seven times, and he had to rely on the help of the locals to continue his journey. When he got close to the forest, Noah continued walking for about an hour to get inside. The surrounding landscape was literally thorny due to the barrenness of the land, dotted with only sharp, cactus-like thorns.

As they approached, Noah saw from afar some Mikea people standing outside. Hearing a strange noise, they immediately crawled back into the hut. Only after Noah's guide persuaded them did the forest people come out to talk. Because the hut door was low, they crawled out.

Noah's guide convinced the family to go outside. Photo: Itchy Feet Again — Noah's guide convinced the family to go outside. Photo: *Itchy Feet Again*

After about four minutes, all nine members of the family emerged, five men and four women. They were naked, the men wearing loincloths to cover their lower bodies and the women wearing diagonal cloths. They appeared frightened, huddled together, their faces downcast and not looking directly at Noah.

Responding to VnExpress , Noah said he was "really surprised" by the primitive lifestyle of the Mikea people. He had visited many tribes around the world and saw more or less signs of civilization such as pots, pans, and pans. However, after observing, Noah did not see any furniture in their living area.

After searching for a while, Noah discovered empty snail shells neatly placed under the tree. The guide explained that the family caught the snails to eat their intestines. The shells were kept as knives and forks, used for tasks such as cutting the umbilical cords of their children. In addition to snails, they also ate leaves, and occasionally sweet potatoes brought by the local people.

After about 10 minutes of confusion, a middle-aged man in the family showed the male tourist how to make fire. He used a round-headed stick, a bunch of leaves and a tool to make a fire. After more than a minute, smoke began to rise from the bunch of leaves below. Then, he took the bunch of leaves, blew with all his strength and after a while, the fire flared up.

"To my surprise, I understood a little bit about how primitive people lived in the past," Noah said.

However, showing off skills does not mean openness. After lighting the fire, the man sat huddled in a corner, his head bowed, and said nothing more. Through an interpreter, Noah joked with them that he was sent by the government to bring his family to the city to live, where they had a house and clothes. The middle-aged man replied in a low voice: "I don't like it," and continued to bow his head.

Noah tried many ways to get the family's attention, such as taking pictures and showing them photos on his phone. However, the reaction was the same. Some people didn't care, others responded with a mumbled "um". Even when Noah gave them lollipops, they refused to accept them out of fear. It was only when Noah's guide opened them and ate them in front of them that they dared to accept them. Noah said that the Mikea people were afraid of things they had never seen before, so they were always on high alert.

During the whole day, Mikea's family hardly had any activities. However, that was enough to make Noah excited because it was the first time he met people who were "afraid of the civilized world". Saying goodbye to the family, Noah was lucky to receive a wave from a child, which he said "was enough to warm his heart".

Tu Nguyen

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